UPDATE 1-Onex Corp posts profit, sees seller's market cooling

(Adds details from call on buyout market)

TORONTO May 16 (Reuters) - Onex Corp, one of
Canada's biggest private equity firms, reported a profit for the
first quarter, and the company's CEO said he was beginning to
see signs of an end to the current buyout seller's market.

"We've been in the thick of a seller's market for some time.
And as in any seller's market, the other side of the coin is
it's tough to be a value buyer," Gerry Schwartz, the company's
founder and chief executive, said on a conference call.
"We're beginning to see some reasons to believe a shift might
occur before too long."

The company, which routinely buys and sells assets, has been
more active on the selling side of late, taking advantage of
high demand as yield-hungry investors prop up the credit market.

In April, Onex and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
said they would sell industrial conglomerate Gates Corp to
private equity firm Blackstone Group LP for $5.4 billion.

That followed the announcement in March that Onex would sell
The Warranty Group, a provider of extended warranty contracts,
to an affiliate of TPG Capital Management for an
enterprise value of about $1.5 billion.

Schwartz said his belief that the market may turn is fueled
by signs such as several recent overheated bids for middling
companies.

Toronto-based Onex owns stakes in several companies,
including electronics manufacturer Celestica Inc, and
manages a handful of private equity funds.